Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful electronic devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of mobile devices, such as wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and paging devices. The mobile devices may be small, lightweight, and easily carried by users. Wireless telephones, such as cellular telephones and Internet Protocol (IP) telephones, can communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Further, many wireless telephones include other types of devices that are incorporated therein. For example, a wireless telephone can also include a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a digital recorder, and an audio file player. Also, wireless telephones can process executable instructions including software applications, such as a web browser application, that can be used to access the Internet. Wireless telephones and other mobile devices may communicate data with other devices (e.g., an access point) via a wireless link (e.g., using a wireless channel, such as a particular frequency, or another type of wireless channel, etc.).
A mobile device and an access point may exchange certain initial communications related to network information prior to exchanging user data. For example, prior to exchanging user data, the mobile device and the access point may perform a “link setup” procedure by exchanging information related to types of communication techniques supported, network addresses, authentication information, and/or association information, as illustrative examples. In some cases, a large number of mobile devices may attempt to establish wireless connectivity with a particular access point. For example, when several mobile devices move within range of an access point, the access point may experience an increased rate of link setup requests, creating latencies in the link setup process. Accordingly, there is a need for improved initial link setup procedures in a wireless communication network.